Photo By Staff Sgt. Douglas Lorance | U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Damien “Frito” Le, 607th Air Operations Center joint personnel...... read more read more
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During the month of October 2021, Osan Air Base hosted a joint-branch, joint-nation training event focused on developing combat search and rescue (CSAR) techniques.
This training addressed both the practical elements of recovering personnel trapped behind enemy lines as well as the logistics concerns of hosting the teams that participated in the CSAR training and brought together elements from the U.S. Air Force, Army and Navy, as well as Republic of Korea forces.
The U.S. Army’s 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade brought their 4-2 Attack Battalion and 3-2 General Support Aviation Battalion joined the CSAR training to contribute their rotary wing and unmanned aircraft system expertise. The 2CAB teamed up with the 7th Air Force and Republic of Korea counterparts to perform live-flight training events across the Korean peninsula.
“These joint, collective, live-flight training events gives us the opportunity to normalize integrative interoperability training across ROK-US Alliance formations and echelons to enhance our collective readiness to ‘Fight Tonight’ and maintain the ‘Katchi Kapshida’ spirit to ‘Go Forward, Together’”, said U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Gary Magallanes, 2CAB unmanned aircraft system expertise operations officer.
Before those aircraft can take to the sky and recover personnel, they need information. They need to know the location of the lost personnel, the strength of hostile forces, and the region’s topography. The Joint Personnel Recovery Center (JPRC) provides that information and more to make sure pilots know the sort of conditions they will be flying in to rescue the survivor. The JPRC can even due this without risking additional aircraft and can even talk directly to the survivor thanks to satellite radio.
“We have the ability to directly and securely communicate to the survivor on a handheld radio via satellite,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Damien “Frito” Le, 607th Air Operations Center JPRC director. “It allows for your Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape managers to direct the survivor on how to stay alive, move to a safe location and wait for rescue.”
With so much information being passed through multiple branches and across two nations, it can be hard to determine who needs to know what at any given moment. That’s where the 621st Air Control Squadron’s Cobra team comes in, delivering command and control information to who needs it. They are responsible not only for passing information up, down and across the chain of command, but also to and from the isolated personnel and the pilots.
“We are a lynchpin of communication that helps to make sure everyone involved in the operation has the most up-to-date and mission-essential information,” said Senior Airman Dylan “Smeagol” Byrum, 621st ACS weapons director. “If we miss information meant for the AOC and don't pass that on or pass the incorrect data to the rescue mission commander, the operation can fail.”
Once the CSAR mission has been properly analyzed and approved, the key to successfully recovering survivors is to remain in the area of operations as long as possible as pilots search for the personnel they’ve come to rescue. This is where the U.S. Air Force’s 909th Air Refueling Squadron shines, keeping aircraft flying as long as needed with their KC-135 Stratotankers. While their primary role is refueling support, the 909th ARS also plays a contributing role in communication. The KC-135 is capable of acting as a receiver to transmit communications back and forth between low flying aircraft conducting CSAR operations, reducing ground interference.
“We are a force multiplier,” said U.S. Air Force Capt. Shelby Clark, 909th ARS KC-135 co-pilot. “We help assets stay up in the air longer to continue the mission.”
An often-overlooked aspect of conducting such large-scale training is the logistical needs required to support the increased number of personnel. The 51st Logistic Readiness Squadron’s Reception Working Group is tasked with coordinating with inbound units and approving their visit requests. COVID-19 has created even more hurtles for their team to overcome, as they now have to coordinate with the 51st Medical Group and COVID Command Center when processing inbound units.
“A lot of things have changed especially with quarantine,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Nyisha Glenn, 51st LRS logistics planner. “Before we didn’t have to figure out where an individual was going to lodge because it was just Turumi Lodge, but now the RWG has gotten with different agencies to figure out where the members are going to stay and how they will quarantine.”
Training events are large scale undertakings that require large amounts of planning between not just different branches, but different nations too. CSAR training is vital to all branches of the military should troops find themselves stuck behind enemy lines, as well as giving squadrons and battalions whose mission is primarily combat focused a chance to show what they’re made of without having to worry about risking lives. That way, when lives are at risk, CSAR teams can rest assured knowing they are trained and ready for action.
| Date Taken: | 10.20.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 12.06.2021 19:07 |
| Story ID: | 410199 |
| Location: | OSAN AIR BASE, KR |
| Web Views: | 54 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, CSART: a job worth doing together, by SSgt Douglas Lorance, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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